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R.J. Reynolds Snuffs Binge Drinking Promotion

December 15, 2005

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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has agreed to discontinue a drinking promotion that had angered lawmakers and consumers alike. The promotion used coasters encouraging binge drinking and attorneys general in three states demanded that the cigarette manufacturers cease the promotion.

RJR said in a letter yesterday that it would stop the promotion, in which over-21 customers were sent coasters on their birthdays.

The coasters included drink recipes and phrases such as "Layer It On, Go 'Til Daybreak."

The attorneys general of California, Maryland and New York filed a complaint with the company last month, calling the coaster promotion irresponsible. They cited research showing that people are more likely to smoke when drinking, and that smokers who regularly drink are almost twice as likely to suffer genetic mutations associated with lung cancer than those who do not.

In a two-sentence letter to Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, a lawyer for RJR said the coaster mailings would stop.

"Upon careful consideration, the beverage coaster program has been terminated," RJR lawyer James H. Beckett wrote.

The promotions were started early this year and were scheduled to end in April, according to there tobacco company.

The attorneys general became involved after a Maryland college student received a box from R.J. Reynolds on his 22nd birthday containing six coasters, each featuring a recipe for a different mixed drink.

A coaster with the recipe for a drink called "Blue in the Face" included the message, "If You Turn Green, You're Doing It Wrong," the letter said. A recipe for a drink called "After Dark" included the message, "Layer It On, Go 'Til Daybreak."

The student's parents passed on the promotion to state authorities.

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